'Yellowstone' is set to return to Paramount Network in November, though there's no word on Kevin Costner's character's storyline.
At long last, Yellowstone is back!
Paramount Network announced on Thursday that the highly anticipated second half of season 5 is set to premiere Sunday, Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Internationally, Paramount's No. 1 show will premiere on Paramount+ in Canada on Nov. 10, the U.K. on Nov. 11 and in Latin America, Brazil and France later in November.
Yellowstone resumed production on the final episodes on May 20. As of right now, the remaining episodes remain the final episodes of Taylor Sheridan's flagship franchise. Also as of right now, the Montana-based show will carry on without its lead star, Kevin Costner, who played the Dutton family patriarch, John Dutton.
As previously reported, the show had originally planned to return in late 2023, but there was a lot of tension between Costner and Sheridan -- from on-set challenges and creative/monetary disagreements to Costner reportedly prioritizing his ambitious four-part film project, Horizon: An American Saga, over the Paramount series.
But with part two of season 5 inching closer to finally premiering, the show's imminent return stirred some fond feelings from Costner, who told ET back in April he'd be interested in returning.
"I'd like to be able to do it but we haven't been able to," Costner said. "...I thought I was going to make seven [seasons] but right now we're at five. So how it works out -- I hope it does -- but they've got a lot of different shows going on. Maybe it will. Maybe this will circle back to me. If it does and I feel really comfortable with [it], I'd love to do it."
And, yes, Costner says he's thought about how John Dutton's story wraps up on Yellowstone.
"Well, you know, he needs to be proactive in what happens and I've kind of had my own fantasy how it might be," Costner said, "but that's Taylor's thing. I said as much to him a while back. I had thoughts how it could happen, but we just have to see."
Costner echoed those sentiments -- about reprising his role as John Dutton III -- in an interview on CBS Sunday Morning.
"Yeah," he said when asked if he would go back to the series. "If I liked the story I would go back."
After it was revealed that he wouldn't be back for the fifth and final season, there was constant speculation as to why he left. Costner, however, told CBS Sunday Morning he did "everything I was contracted to do with Yellowstone."
For what it's worth, Costner remains listed as an executive producer on the series, alongside Sheridan, co-creator John Linson, Art Linson, David C. Glasser, Bob Yari, Stephen Kay, Michael Friedman, Christina Voros and Keith Cox.
Yellowstone chronicles the Dutton family, led by Costner's patriarch, who controls the largest contiguous cattle ranch in the United States. Amid shifting alliances, unsolved murders, open wounds, and hard-earned respect, the ranch is in constant conflict with those it borders -- an expanding town, an Indian reservation and America’s first national park. Other cast members include Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille and Brecken Merrill.
The first half of season 5 left in yet another cliffhanger, as the Yellowstone ranch -- handlers and cattle -- make the trek down south to the famed Four Sixes Ranch in Texas. According to Paramount, the first half of season 5 broke records, garnering over 17 million total viewers.
On the back of Yellowstone's monumental success, the series spawned a number of spinoffs, including the prequels 1883 and 1923. And then there's this -- Paramount boss Chris McCarthy said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that a Yellowstone extension, starring Matthew McConaughey, will move forward no matter Costner's fate on Yellowstone.
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